FOUNDER OF THE MONTH
SHERRY CHANG
NEURAL LAB
BY Russell Nichols
In a global pandemic , when touching anything or anybody poses a health risk , Sherry Chang expected a boom in hands-free technology .
“ When the pandemic first hit , we were asking , why aren ’ t we seeing Microsoft Kinect at every corner ?” Chang says , referring to the line of motion sensing input devices . “ Why don ’ t we have this at ATMs ?”
As co-founder and CEO of Neural Lab , Chang realized touchless technology wasn ’ t going to make itself . The revelation came two years ago while she cared for her immunocompromised father-in-law . Chang and her co-founder and spouse , Oliver Chen , had the background from working at Intel for years . It was a matter of developing the right application .
Based in El Dorado Hills , Neural Lab has developed a touchless user interface that uses a basic webcam to turn hand and body motions into commands for any input device , including keyboards , mice , touchscreens , games and TV controllers .
The first target market is the health care industry , Chang says , where this technology would be useful in sterilized environments such as operating rooms . Neural Lab plans to bring touchless to this sector via a medical device manufacturer . Demand is also strong for touchless in gaming systems and kiosks , Chang adds . To date , the startup has raised $ 775,000 and won second place in the 2022 Kings Capitalize Pitch Competition . Currently in its seed round , Chang hopes to raise between $ 3 to $ 5 million by the fall .
PHOTO BY TERENCE DUFFY
Kinetic AI . My backup name for the startup was ...............................................
a concert pianist . If I could have any other job , I ’ d be ...............................................
good culture . A startup can ’ t be successful without .....................................................
not being able to provide My biggest fear about launching was ................................................
for my family . .........................................................................................................
launch your If I could give my younger self advice , it would be ............................
startup sooner . ......................................................................................................
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FOR THIS TECHNOLOGY ? “ The challenge is making the experience good . There are lots of little details . … It is not as good as a mouse or touch screen yet , but much better than existing solutions .”
WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE WITH THIS TOOL ? “ We can make technology more inclusive . … By eliminating that learning curve barrier , we can make the computer understand and adapt to you . If we ’ re successful , kids and grandkids won ’ t know what a mouse is . It ’ ll go the way of the rotary phone .”
For more on Neural Lab , read Russell Nichols ’ Startup of the Month column at comstocksmag . com .
122 comstocksmag . com | July 2022